Walton: Facade / Orb and Sceptre / Music from Henry V (with Sir Laurence Olivier, narrator)

"[Anthony] Collins' recording of Façade is a Gramophone classic. ... [Edith] Sitwell had one of the richest and most characterful speaking voices, and here she recites her early poems to the masterful, witty music of the youthful [William] Walton with glorious relish. Peter Pears is splendid too in the fast poems, rattling off the lines like the grande dame herself, to demonstrate how near-nonsence can be pure poetry."
- Gramophone Rosette Recording

Alto brings together for the first time three landmark recordings of British composer William Walton: the famous Sitwell/Pears Façade, scenes from Henry V read by Laurence Olivier accompanied by Walton's stirring music for the eponymous film, and Sir Malcolm Sargent's recording of Orb and Sceptre.